Bob Ferguson scores one of his four touchdowns against Michigan in the 50-20 victory at Ann Arbor in 1961. / Photo Courtesy of The Ohio State University Archiv

Written by

Larry Phillips

News Journal

Ohio State fullback Bob Ferguson was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1961, losing to Ernie Davis. Ferguson ran for 152 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to a 50-20 beating of Michigan in Ann Arbor during his final collegiate game. / Photo courtesy of the College Football Hall of Fam

Ohio State fullback Bob Ferguson was a two-time All-American in 1960 and 1961. / Photo Courtesy of The Ohio State University Archiv

Ohio State fullback Bob Ferguson powers through the Iowa line on his way to a 144-yard rushing performance in a 29-13 beating of the Hawkeyes during 1961's Homecoming game in Ohio Stadium. / AP file photo

Ferguson

TROY — Bob Ferguson waited one game before announcing his presence to the Ohio high school football world.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound freshman failed to score on opening night at Troy in 1954. In the second game, a 40-18 pounding of Monroe, he scored three touchdowns.

“One thing you learned real quick is that if you didn’t get out of his way, he would run you over, and that included his teammates,” lineman Herb Hartman told the Troy Daily News. “There would be times he would be carrying five guys.”

The Trojans finished 3-6, but Ferguson gained 454 yards and scored 75 points to earn second-team All-Miami Valley League honors. After that campaign, Troy would not lose a game during the rest of his high school career.

In 1955, Ferguson didn’t play like a sophomore. Troy’s biggest wins were against Fairmont and a 19-12 decision against unbeaten Xenia, when Ferguson scored the clinching touchdown. Ferguson gained 1,555 yards and scored 157 points. He was a second-team All-Ohioan, according to United Press International, and an honorable mention all-state pick by the Associated Press.

That was an appetizer.

In the first half of the 1956 season opener against Dayton Kiser, Ferguson put on a show unseen in Ohio prep football annals. He gained 429 yards and scored six TDs on 12 carries. Ferguson finished with a surreal 529 yards and seven scores — from 92, 85, 72, 69, 48, 18 and 7 yards. To show it was no fluke, he exploded for 475 yards and six TDs in Week 2 against Monroe — an 81-6 massacre.

The Trojans rolled to another undefeated season while Ferguson finished with 2,089 yards, 31 touchdowns, 189 points and was a consensus first-team All-Ohioan.

“All roads are leading to Troy, Ohio, with college recruiters packing their bags and heading to the home of Bob Ferguson, prep football’s most amazing youngster,” wrote United Press sports writer John Malcolm. “Ferguson, off his showing to date, will make Troy as famous as Wheaton, Ill., which produced Red Grange.”

As a senior in 1957, coach Lou Juillerat seemed intent on shaving his star’s carries. Ferguson only needed 13 attempts in the opener to compile 271 yards and six TDs (73, 55, 38, 37, 7 and 5 yards) in a 69-7 beating of Dayton Kiser.

Troy rolled to a third consecutive 9-0 record and finished No. 5 in the final UPI poll and sixth in the AP rankings. Ferguson compiled 1,423 yards (10.9 yards per carry) and scored 21 touchdowns. In 36 career games, he racked up 5,521 yards rushing (153.4 yards per game) and scored 578 points (16.1 per game).

Ferguson was selected captain of the UPI All-Ohio team and the top player on the AP all-state squad. He was a Teen All-American, Scholastic All-American and Red Man’s All-American. His college choice was obvious.

Although the Buckeyes returned All-American Bob White at fullback, Ferguson pushed for playing time as a sophomore. His highlight was a 55-yard TD bolt against Michigan State, although the 1959 season was a disappointing 3-5-1. Still, the 6-foot, 217-pounder with a neck size of 22 showed promise. He led the team with 371 yards (6.1 yards per carry) and scored twice.

As a junior in 1960, Ferguson took complete control. An upset loss at Purdue sidetracked the season, but the Buckeyes finished 7-2 thanks to his 17-yard, fourth-quarter TD romp to beat Michigan, 7-0. He had 853 yards on 160 carries (5.3 avg.), scored 13 touchdowns and was a consensus All-American.

“In a long line of great Ohio State backs, the burly Ferguson could become one of the greatest,” wrote Oliver Kuechle, of the Milwaukee Journal.

In 1961, sophomores Paul Warfield and Matt Snell, joined Ferguson in the backfield. The season started poorly, a 7-7 tie with TCU. But Ohio State improved each week. The Buckeyes powered through an undefeated season, punctuated by Ferguson’s four touchdowns in a 50-14 rout at Michigan. However, that was the final game in an 8-0-1 campaign.

The school’s faculty council rejected the Rose Bowl bid, claiming Ohio State was becoming a football school. Ferguson finished with 938 yards and 11 TDs. He was a two-time consensus All-American.

Syracuse running back Ernie Davis edged the battering Buckeye by 53 points in one of the closest votes in Heisman Trophy history. Davis gained 115 fewer yards than Ferguson despite playing one more regular-season game. Still, Ferguson won the Maxwell Award, as the nation’s top offensive player, and was the college football player of the year, according to UPI.

For his three-year career at Ohio State, Ferguson finished with 2,162 yards and 26 TDs, while averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

Pittsburgh selected Ferguson with the fifth pick in the first round of the NFL draft. Unfortunately, he simply was a bad fit with the Steelers. His pro career was short and unproductive.

Yet in 1987, Ferguson was inducted into The Ohio State University Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1996, he was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame.

“(Ferguson is) as good a back as I’ve seen in nearly 20 years in this league,” Michigan coach Bump Elliott said.